Soar
by treehugger195
Summary: Charlie has a near death experience and his soul is transported back to the airport. When he returns from the dead, he finds a way to rescue himself and the others, but will the others believe him? Bad summary! ;)
1. Default Chapter

Hey Y'all!  This is my first LOST fic ever, so please don't be too cruel..;)! 

anyways, this story is going to be a series and will hopefully get better as it goes along!  ;) (really I don't know if this is good or not, please tell me!) 

Note: There are some hints of Sawyer/Charlie slash in there, but it could be taken as non-slash(what ever the word is) it just depends on how you interpret it.    

                                                            ENJOY!!!!

* * *

The sun glared down upon the castaways of the tropical island. Sweat and body odor filled the still air. It seemed like the wind would never blow again. Most of the people had taken to the shade of the jungle, despite the ever looming danger of the unknown that filled the "Magical forest." Charlie, though, decided to take his chances in the water. The ocean was an irresistible aqua blue, the clearest the water had been since they had been there. 

Charlie, who only had his boxers on, was wading in the water, as he could not swim to save his or anyone's life, which had been proved only a couple of days before when that woman had drowned. He had been too late. He wondered to himself if he should have gone anyways just to try, maybe he would have been a hero, maybe Jack wouldn't have glared at him with such a deep malice. He didn't know, but he really did care. It wasn't his problem anymore.

He looked back to the beach as he felt someone was watching him, only to see Claire. She smiled and waved at him like a mother would when her child first learns how to swim. Charlie, deciding to ignore the worried expression on her face, smiled back before he plunged himself into the icy water.

Charlie came back up quickly, brushing his hands through his tangled hair, and looked to the beach again. Claire had taken a seat now beneath a large palm tree for shade. Charlie could tell that she was going to watch him, but for what reason, was still a mystery to him. Maybe she was worrying about him because he had been acting so strange. Well it was hard not to act strange when his drugs had been taken away and was slowly starting to go through withdrawel. He shook more now and sweated even in the cold dead of the night. He guessed that she had noticed this.

The tide began to increase, a signal for him to head back to the beach as he did not want to be pulled or drowned by a bloody wave. He started to wade back to the beach when he felt a tug on his leg. He thought this strange and looked down to see what was happening. His eyes grew large with terror and began to panic when he saw a hand wrapped around his ankle. He tried to get out of its grip, but it wouldn't let go. He pulled himself forward, but only about a foot before he was pulled under.

Charlie thrashed frantically, causing a disturbance in the surface water, hoping the Claire would notice. She did. Charlie could hear her screams from under the water, but that didn't matter right now, what mattered was getting out of this _thing's_ grip. He looked down again and saw a body, a woman's body pulling Charlie closer. With each frantic movement that Charlie made, the woman would just drag him closer.

Charlie could feel his heart racing when he got a good look at this woman. Her body was pale as the white sand that lay at the bottom of the ocean; her eyes were a dulled blue that sent chills down his spine. What did she want from him?

The tugging stopped and Charlie was now face to face with the ghastly woman. "You're the one who left me here. You're the one who let me die." A chilling voice echoed through the water. Charlie was now shaking out of fear, when he saw that it was the woman who was talking. "Now you're going to die the same way I did." Her grip tightened, causing Charlie to yell out in pain, filling is mouth with the sea salty water.

He tried to reach the surface with an even fiercer stroke, but soon found himself drifting off into a tiredness that he had never known. He was dying, he could feel it. His head felt like it was going to explode from the lack of air. His eyes began to dim and fading, but before he fell into darkness, he felt strong arms wrapping around his waist and pulling him. Then everything went dark.

* * *

Sawyer kicked his feet up on the airline seat that he had claimed earlier to watch everyone through the jungle brush as they passed by, but now he was watching a new person with his full attention. Charlie. Charlie had been out in the water for a while now, which didn't surprise Sawyer as it was an unusually hot day, and he was actually looking _real_. 

To Sawyer, Charlie was always faking how he felt, as though he didn't want anyone to see the real Charlie. He always talked about his D-list band that no one really cared about or giving cheeky smiles that Sawyer detected were forced. Now, though, Charlie, half naked and trembling from the cool water's touch, had never seemed so human. Sawyer smiled, it wasn't like he himself had been completely open to everyone either, who the Hell was he kidding.

He watched as Charlie began to make his way to the beach and laughed when the Brit had tripped. It was cute somehow. Then, without warning, Charlie was pulled into the water.

"What the Hell?" Sawyer muttered. He watched to see if the smaller man would emerge from the water, but he didn't. "Damn!" Sawyer ran onto the beach only to be greeted by Claire's ungodly screams. "Sawyer, you have to save him! He can't swim!"

"Shit," sawyer cursed under his breath. It was true, Charlie couldn't swim. How could he forget?! "Don't worry sweet cheeks, I'll get him," Sawyer said as reassuringly as possible.

Sawyer tore his shirt off and made a mad dash into the water, diving in as soon as it was deep enough. He opened his eyes and looked around frantically. 'Where is he?'

Then Sawyer heard a thrashing noise coming from somewhere about twenty feet away. He turned his head and saw the young rocker struggling to go to the surface, like he was held back by something. Then, as soon as Sawyer saw Charlie moving, he saw that Charlie was still. 'DAMN!'

Sawyer speed through water like a torpedo towards the still man, wrapped his arms around Charlie's slim waist, and literally pulled Charlie to the surface. Sawyer kept a firm grip and swam furiously back to the beach, which now had a whole horde of people nervously watching him. Why did the big groups come at the wrong time and never do anything to help?

Sawyer carried the bassist onto the beach, demanding, "Get out of the way! Let him breathe!" He gently laid the younger man onto the warm sand of the beach like a mother putting her child down to rest. Sawyer looked over Charlie's motionless body and cussed.

"Where the Hell is Jack?" Sawyer cried. No one answered. It figured, after Jack had gone into that jungle a couple of days ago, anyone barely saw him, he was always off doing stuff to 'better the camp'. "Does anyone know?" still no answer. "Well, then, I guess I'll just have to play doctor."

Sawyer dropped down and checked Charlie's pulse, and breathing. There was none. Sawyer took his hands and began to pushed and Charlie's pale chest, hoping to get a response. "Come on, come on..."

Sawyer pushed harder and harder with each set he did, until he was almost certain that he would break a rib or something if he didn't stop. Sawyer closed his eyes, trying to ignore the crying and yells of the on-lookers, and took a deep breath. It now hit him that Charlie's life was in his hands and he didn't know if he could keep holding it in his own, unsure hands.

'No,' Sawyer thought, 'you are not going to lose him. Keep going, you'll see.'

Sawyer nodded to the voice and pushed again and again and then by some miracle, Charlie opened his eyes.

* * *

People rushed past Charlie as he stood in the middle of the Sydney International Airport, no one seemed to see him, like he was invisible. There was chaos all around him. News reporters and camera crews gathered around a man who, apparently saying something very important. 

"At approximately 11:30 am, Flight 111 has reportedly gone down. We do not know if there were any survivors or where the plane crash, but we have contacted the families of all that were aboard...."

Charlie turned around at the sound of a small girl crying. "Where is Uncle Charlie?" His eyes widened. There, just behind him, was Liam, his wife, and his daughter.

Liam rubbed his forehead, trying not to let the building tears fall, replied, "I don't know honey, but we'll find out."

Charlie wanted to yell out that he was there in front of them, but thought better of it. If they couldn't see him, then they probably couldn't hear him either. Instead, he settled with brushing the wisps of blonde hair out of his niece's cherubic face. She shivered at his touch and turned to see who had done it, but, to her, no one was there.

A man in a suit walked up to Liam and shook his hand. "You must one of the families. My name is Almon Young, if you will follow me Mr....?"

"Pace," Liam replied, "My brother was on the plane."

"First of all, just let me say how sorry I am for the grief and worry this must be causing you,"-Charlie snorted at that-"and let me assure you we are doing the best to find the plane and the passengers."

"Thank you," Liam whispered.

Mr. Young gave a sympathetic smile. "Now sir, if you would come with me."

Liam looked back at his wife and daughter and asked, "What about them?"

"I am sorry Mr. Pace, but I don't think that your daughter should be exposed to the drama of this situation, if you know what I mean." Liam looked at his wife once more and received a nod from her as she bounced the little girl up and down. Liam turned and followed Mr. Young into his office with Charlie floating behind them.

"Please have a seat Mr. Pace," Mr. Young said pointing at a chair in front of his desk. Mr. Young pulled out a stack of paper with a long list of names, addresses, and other information. "Mr. Pace, what was your brother's name?"

"Charlie, Charlie Pace."

Mr. Young skimmed through the pages and stopped when he found what he was looking for. "Mr. Charlie Pace of Manchester, England, is that your brother?"

"Yes, sir," Liam whispered, closing his eyes.

"Alright then, I'll just need you to identify him with a picture that we have on the computer data base," Mr. Young said matter-of-factly. "We keep a copy of everyone's passport when they pass through."

Mr. Young typed up something on his computer and then turned the screen for Liam to see. There in front of him was the unmistakable picture of Charlie. He was defiantly high when this was taken as his eyes were glazed and distant and he had one of those cheeky smiles that he gave when he had just taken a hit. "Yeah," Liam whispered, "That's him."

"Right then," Mr. Young nodded. He took a piece of paper and put a check mark by Charlie's name. "I am sure that you have questions that need to be answered. I am the only person in this place that will tell you what you need truthfully."

Liam looked like he was thinking of a way to word something that was on his mind. "Tell me, what is the reality that my brother is going to be found?"

"To tell you the truth, sir," Mr. Young began, "very slim. It is true that we are doing our best to track them down, but so far we haven't found anything. You see, we have tracking devices in all of our planes under the pilot's seat and they can only be deactivated if they are turned off by the pilot. The tracking device in Flight 111 was turned off somehow. Without it on, our chances of finding them are very slim," he sighed, "As for finding your brother and the rest alive, I would doubt it, but there is a slight chance that he could be alive, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. I'm sorry."

Liam blinked a couple of times, as though to let everything sink in. He slowly closed his eyes one more time with the realization of what had just been said. "So Charlie is gone," Liam muttered heartbroken. He rubbed his temples and could feel the hot tears brim his eye lashes and drift down his cheek. He started to sob and the other man quietly got up.

"I am sorry for your loss." Mr. Young closed the door softly behind him.

Liam wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. He stared up at the picture that still loomed on the screen in front of him. "I am so sorry baby brother. You were right; I never looked out for you like I should have. I was the older brother, the one who was supposed to look out for you, and what did I do? I got you dragged into a bloody mess. I am such a git." Liam swallowed down the rest of his tears. "I promised you that when you had too much, we'd pull out, but I just kept pushing and pushing. That is why you were the way you were. I should of made you stay with me, gotten you help. Then you wouldn't be dead, you wouldn't be gone forever. I failed you and I am so sorry."

Liam began to cry again, a strangely heart-breaking sight for Charlie. Usually, he would feel indifferent about it. Liam had never shown understanding towards him, so why should Charlie of shown pity towards Liam? This, though, shattered what was left of Charlie's tainted heart. Liam was crying for Charlie, something that he had never seen before. Liam really did love him.

Charlie felt the whole world stop around him. Liam loved him. That was all he ever wanted and now he had it or at least knew it. Charlie closed his eyes, trying to keep the building tears back, but it was useless. He wiped a tear from his deep, blue eyes and stepped forward.

Charlie reached out a hand, wiping a tear from his brother's eye. "Don't fret," he soothed, "I was a bloody mess before you touched me. I forgive you; I'm just sorry for being a prick for the last couple of years."

Liam looked up with fear and surprise in his blazing blue eyes. Charlie stared back at him, realizing that Liam had heard and seen him. The two brothers just stared at each other, both unsure if this was real or not.

"Charlie?" Liam whispered. Suddenly, everything around Charlie became misty, like everything was being erased. Everything was whirling around him and he could feel himself being tugged back, but to where, he didn't know.

With Charlie's last seconds, he called out to his brother. "Liam!"

Charlie jerked open his eyes and breathed with long, deep gasps, which were the only things he could hear. The sun was blinding, it made him feel sick. He rolled to his side and let a horrible mixture of bile and ocean water escape his mouth.

A distant murmur of voices filled his ears, and then it slowly started to build until it had reached his climax. He ignored this and closed his eyes. He felt so tired. A gentle nudge on his shoulder made him come back to the real world for a while.

He opened his eyes to see Sawyer and Claire sitting next to him. "Where the bloody Hell am I?" His memories of just a few moments ago flashed before his eyes and he tried to sit up. "The cockpit, where is the cockpit..."

"Charlie!" Claire cried. She pulled him into a hug, pressing him against her pregnant stomach, making him still. "Oh my God, I thought you were dead!" Charlie could feel her tears drop on his head. He shivered slightly and turned to look at Sawyer. His face had relief written all over it, replacing the usual smirk.

"Sawyer, I have to find the pilot's chair...." Charlie whispered.

"Shush kid," Sawyer consoled, thinking that Charlie was delirious, "you need to rest."

Charlie tried to pull free from Claire's hug, but was too weak. A wave of sleep washed over his heavy eyes. "The tracking device...I've got to find it..." he muttered as he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Review if you like, review if you don't like.  everyone needs a little critisizm sometime!


	2. Impossible?

Hey ya'll! Sorry it took a while, my computer has been really strange lately...

I love all of my reviews!!!! ha...don't worry, when it comes to Charlie I have a one track mind too....;) I am very grateful for reviews, even though most of the people were strange...JUST KIDDING!!!

Enjoy!!!!

* * *

Sawyer looked down at the frail figure of Charlie that laid in an uneasy sleep. He had been sleeping for almost three hours now, and there was still no movement since Jack, who had finally appeared, Sayid, and Boone had carried the younger man into the caves for shelter. The fire's blaze illuminated Charlie's cherubic face only making him seem more peaceful than ever. To think, Sawyer had saved this poor kids life, Cheeky as Sawyer had so affectionately crowned him, and had done it without Jack.

Jack. The sound of that name infuriated him whenever he thought about it. Jack should have been there to help. Sawyer knew that it was only by chance that Charlie had come back from the dead. A scary thought that haunted him every time he looked at Cheeky.

"Sawyer?" Sawyer turned and snarled when he saw that it was Jack.

"What do you want," Sawyer demanded more than asked.

"It is Hurley's watch now, you better get some rest and get something to eat," Jack paused, feeling the tension in the air, "Look Sawyer, I know that you are mad at me because I wasn't there, but...."

"But what?" Sawyer gnarled, "Don't tell me, you were off snogging with Kate. Well look here Jack, I am glad that you found yourself a little whore to keep yourself satisfied, but what about these things that happen," Sawyer pointed at Charlie, "What about Charlie?"

Jack had flushed with anger. "Don't you ever talk about Kate that way!"

Sawyer just smirked. "I see I hit a nerve then."

Charlie moaned and started twitching. Sawyer looked back at the younger man with worry and then back at Jack. He stalked up to Jack and pushed him out of the way. "You take care of him, or I will make you a patient too."

Jack watched as Sawyer stalked down to the beach when Hurley came up behind to the cave.

"Whoa dude, that was harsh." Jack stood where he was for a moment and then walked toward Charlie.

"Yeah, well I have dealt with worse." Jack checked Charlie's pulse, normal. "Well Hurley, I'd say that you have your job cut out for you. He seems in stable condition and should be waking up anytime now. All you have to do is watch and wait."

"Sounds like a snore fest to me," Hurley mumbled, taking a seat next to the fire.

Jack smiled, "Yeah well I told you that this was going to take a while."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess I have to pay a price to be a good citizen."

Jack laid some more blankets on his patient, making sure that everything would be fine while Hurley had watch. "Now, if Charlie does anything that says that he is waking up, send someone to come and find me. If Charlie starts to have compulsions, send someone to come and find me."

"Whoa, dude, so if Charlie farts or something, should I send someone to come and tell you?" Hurley said in a totally serious voice. Jack just stared at him for a minute and then Hurley started to laugh. "I'm just kidding man. Lighten up!"

Jack shook his head, smiling. "So you know what to do then?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If Charlie wakes up or starts having seizures or anything of that sort, I send someone to come and find you."

"Good," Jack smiled. "I'll be on my way then."

"See ya dude." Hurley waved and after Jack had left, he looked around the cave. "Well isn't this just a cheery place." The walls were dusted with mud and dirt that gave off an eerie glow when he light from the fire hit it just right. "It's like something out of a horror movie."

Hurley sighed, getting bored with his surroundings and decided to look at Charlie instead. The smaller man looked pale and was sweating most likely from the heat of the fire and blankets that Jack had piled on earlier. Hurley got up and started to take a couple of the blankets off.

"Here man, now it won't be so hot." He took the extra blankets and set them down next to the fire and made a seat for himself. "Something tells me this is going to take a while."

Hurley heard a moan. He looked around quickly until a movement caught his eye. It was Charlie; he was twisting himself in the blankets and coming dangerously close to the fire in the process.

"Whoa dude, fire bad!" Hurley exclaimed as he took Charlie into his arms and brought him away from the fire.

"Hurley?" a voice croaked.

Hurley looked down at Charlie and saw that he was awake, but barley. "Charlie, you're awake!" Hurley looked over his shoulder, looking to see if Jack was anywhere near. "I have to find Jack and tell him."

"Hurley, where am I?"

Hurley looked back down at the bassist, almost forgetting that he was there, and replied, "You're at the caves man, and you're alright."

"Where's Claire?"

"She's out by the fire eating dinner with Kate," Hurley mumbled, still wondering what to do. It finally came to him. "Kate! Get in here; I need you to do me a favor!"

Kate came running in with worry on her face. "What is it? Is Charlie alright?"

"Yeah, he's awake."

"Really?" Kate looked down at Charlie and saw that his eyes were open and wondering around the cave. "Charlie? Can you hear me? It's Kate."

Charlie's eyes focused and landed on Kate. "Yeah, I hear you."

"Kate, I need you to find Jack and tell him that Charlie is awake," Hurley stressed, cutting the conversation off.

Kate looked up at the bigger man and nodded, "Right." She ran out of the cave and into the jungle, determined to find the doctor.

Hurley's full attention was now on Charlie, who had settled himself on the cool, rocky floor of the cave.

"Charlie, are you okay? Is their anything that I can do?"

Charlie looked up, startled by his voice as though he had forgotten that Hurley was there. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Hurley nodded, wondering what to say. "You gave us quite a scare today. Sawyer said that you were technically dead for like five minutes."

Charlie weakly chuckled. "Yeah. I was out there for a while." Charlie looked thoughtful at his feet, as though trying to remember something.

"What is it like to be dead?" Hurley blurted. He was now starting to regret it and was about to apologize when Charlie started to talk.

"It was weird man," Charlie began, "It wasn't like I was dead. I was breathing; the only difference was that no one could see me."

"Where were you?"

Charlie looked like he was now completely spaced out, as though he were unaware of where he was or who Hurley was. "I was at the airport again and everything was so different. All these bloody news reporters everywhere, runnin' around, tryin' to get this big story about summat that had happened. This man started to talk and he was talking about a plane crash and said that every passenger's family had been contacted and they were doing their best to find this plane and these people." Charlie paused and licked his lips. "I turned around and saw my brother, Liam, his wife, and daughter standing right behind me, but they didn't see me. Then this brute, Mr. Young I think, took my brother to this room and made him identify me. MY brother asked this Mr. Young guy a question about the crash and the guy starts talking about how slim their chances are of finding us because...of a tracker that wasn't...turned. on!" Charlie's eyes widened with excitement and tried to pick himself off the ground. "Hurley! I have to get to the cockpit and find the pilot's chair!"

"Whoa, whoa, what?" Hurley said as he tried to steady the trembling rocker. "What are you talking about?"

"When I was out of my body, I learned how about this tracky thing that is under the pilot's chair and if I turn it on, we will be rescued!"

Hurley thought that Charlie was completely mad by the way that he was thrashing about and rambling on and on.

"Charlie, I think you should sit down and wait for Jack so he can check you out, okay? Then we'll find your blinky chair thing."

"What blinky chair thing?" Hurley turned to find a completely confused Jack watching them.

Charlie stumbled towards Jack with an excitement in his eyes that screamed madness. "The blinky chair thing that will save us, Jack!"

Jack looked over Charlie's shoulder and gave a questioning look at Hurley who pointed to Charlie and shrugged. "Well listen Charlie, I think you sit down and let me take a look at you and then we'll talk about this chair thing. Does that sound good?"

Charlie's eyes widened and he waved his arms fiercely up and down. "NO man, don't you realize that the tracking device will save us?! It's like the bloody beacon of hope!"

"Charlie," Jack said, trying to calm the seemingly out of it Charlie, "you're making no sense. Now come on and sit down."

Charlie was pulled down by Hurley who had snuck up behind him and was pinned to the cave floor.

"Then I'll make sense of it!" Charlie exclaimed. "When I was dead, I went back to the airport, or at least my soul did, and I was listening in on a conversation between this airport official and my brother and they started talking about what our possibilities of being found were. The airport guy, Mr. Young was his name, said it was going to be near impossible without this tracking device under the pilot's chair turned on as it had somehow been turned off during the crash. If we find that chair and turn the tracking device on, then we will be found and rescued!"

Jack glanced from Hurley to Charlie. "Okay Charlie, we'll look into that," Jack stated with a calming voice, desperately trying to get his patient to calm down. "I promise."

"You do?" Charlie replied like a small child.

Jack nodded. "The better you cooperate, the faster we'll find it."

Charlie looked unbelieving for a moment and then replied, "Okay."

Jack looked over Charlie with the utmost attentiveness, trying to find any cause that could explain Charlie's strange behavior. He put his hand on the young rocker's head and sensed a small fever, but nothing that could cause hallucinations. Jack tried to find an explanation and searched over Charlie again.

Finding nothing, Jack said, "Well Charlie, you seem to be alright, but I still want you to stay here. You have a fever."

"Good, so now we can go find the tracking device, right?" Charlie asked hastily, trying to get out of Hurley's tight grip.

Jack looked down, trying and preparing to say what he was about to. "No, Charlie, you need to rest some more before..."

"You promised Jack!" Charlie cried, "Don't you want to get rescued?" Jack turned away "Jack, if we find this thing, we will be rescued. Don't you understand that?"

"Calm down Charlie," Hurley said, putting a hand on the skinny man's shoulder.

"Get your hand off of me!" Charlie swatted Hurley's hand off and walked up to Jack until they were merely inches apart. "You promised."

"I know Charlie, but I think that you should get some more rest before we go out looking for it," Jack explained, almost apologetically. "I am only looking out for you Charlie, we don't want you go out on us again."

Charlie sighed and backed off. "Alright man, I can understand that, but please, promise me that you will go looking for it, please. You wouldn't want to have backed out on two promises now would you?"

Jack nodded, "Alright Charlie, I'll go looking for it. You just stay here and rest."

Charlie lay back down and replied, "Okay."

Jack watched over Charlie until he was certain that he was asleep and motioned Hurley out of the cave.

"How long has he been acting like that?" Jack with a hint of concern.

Hurley looked over at the rocker and scratched his head. "When I asked him about being dead, that was when he started goin' off."

Jack scolded him. "You shouldn't have done that! He was just waking and was probably in a bad state to begin with."

"I know, I'm sorry man, but I just had to know."

Jack ran a hand over his sweating face. "Okay then, what did he say? Maybe we could link this little trigger of insanity."

Hurley sighed. "Look, he said that he wasn't actually dead, but that he had more of an out of body experience. He was back at the airport and found out through some guy that was talking to this other dude, I think Charlie's brother, about this tracking device. The guy said that there was a device under the pilot's chair that had been turned off during the crash and that without the tracking device thing on, they wouldn't be able to find us."

Jack shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Charlie claims that he wasn't dead, but his soul was out of his body?"

"Yeah man, exactly."

Jack paced around. "Either Charlie is telling the truth or he is temporarily insane. I would put my money on the latter."

"Listen dude, I know that as a doctor and all that you need explanations for everything, but this is one of those things that science and explanations just aren't possible." Jack looked up at the bigger man. "Look, there are such things as out-of-body experiences and Charlie could have had one. Don't forget that we are on an island on crack, anything is possible here."

Jack stopped pacing and chuckled. "Hurley, I know that you want to believe this because it gives you hope of being rescued, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Charlie is not in the best mind, which is understandable. I know that I wouldn't be in right spirits if I had almost drowned too, but by fostering his little story, you could trigger something. Please, don't mention that story again. Charlie just needs to get his rest now. He will be better tomorrow."

"Alright man," Hurley sighed, "but I'm telling ya, he could be right."

Jack sighed, not wanting to argue anymore, and looked back into the caves and watched as Charlie's small frame slept silently. 'I wish that you were right,' Jack thought as he scanned the younger man's face, 'but the impossible can never happen.'

* * *

Ending this Chappie was hard. I hated the way I ended it...grrrr. Anyways Review please!!


	3. Desicions

Hey ya'll! Okay, I know i haven't updated lately, but school and holidays and trying to get where i was going with this story took a long time. ;)

I love all of my reviewers and readers! I would hug you, but I can't....that makes me sad!

Enjoy!!!!

* * *

Jack walked down the path leading to nowhere in particular. He just wanted to think, away from every one else. Charlie has been on his mind all night. Could he really be telling the truth? He didn't know and really didn't believe it, but everyone else did. If he didn't let Charlie look for the tracking device, the others might become restless, but if he did, the others would either be put down or in high spirits. Jack sighed as he rubbed his face in restlessness. This was going to be a hard decision.

Suddenly, Jack heard twigs snapping at a rather steady pace heading his way. He stayed where he was, trying to determine what it was.

"Jack." He jumped at the pressure of a hand upon his shoulder

"Oh, Locke it's just you," Jack breathed.

Locke smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you. I just heard some twigs snapping and I came to make sure that it wasn't anything that could be hunted."

Jack nodded, pretending to understand this strange man. "Don't worry about it."

Locke nodded and looked over his shoulder, as though to see if anyone was coming. "Why are you out here Jack? I would have thought that you would be with the others looking after Charlie."

"Yeah, well, he's kind of the reason I'm out here," Jack smiled faintly.

"Oh? Does he need any herbs or something or is it something deeper than that," Locke said looking deeply into Jack's eyes. Jack looked away, feeling as though he was being read through his eyes, amazed at the older man's uncanny ability to read people. "You can tell me; I'll try to help."

Jack looked up and sighed. "Well, you see. Charlie claims to have had an out-of-body experience when he was dead. He said that he was back in the airport, but it was after the plane crashed and there were a lot of people there. He found this guy, Mr. Young, and he found out that there was, well supposedly, a tracking device under the pilot's chair. Without the device turned on, they couldn't find us and with it on they could."

Locke nodded. "My taking is that you don't believe this." Jack nodded. "Well, let me tell ya something Jack. Have you ever heard of an ancient Indian tradition where thirteen/ fourteen year old boys were sent out into the jungle with no food and water. They were sent there to meditate for a few days or until they had this vision you see. These visions supposedly were messages from their ancestors that told the boys of their future like their job or wife. These visions would almost always come true, and do you know why Jack?"

"They would come true because the boys probably believed them to be true and wouldn't settle for less," Jack mused, "It was all mind over matter in a sense."

Locke smiled. "To a logical mind like yours, yes, but to the others that believe, it was destiny."

Jack thought for a moment before answering. "So you're saying that Charlie's 'vision' could be true? It was caused by destiny?"

Locke nodded. "Yes. It would make sense as the boy has wanted to prove himself since that woman drowned and he couldn't do anything. The fates have heard his wish and are granting it to him through this 'vision', out-of-body experience, or whatever you want to call it."

"So, I should let Charlie look for this tracking device then?"

"Yes."

Jack nodded. "Thanks Locke, you have been a lot of help."

"I'm just glad I could help."

Jack turned; about to head back to the camp until he got up the courage to ask Locke a question, but when he turned around, the other man had disappeared. Jack blinked a couple of times, making sure that this wasn't a dream and turned back around. Mr. Locke was something different.

Charlie woke up at the sound of someone entering the cave. He turned his head to see that it was Claire tip-toeing into the cave, an amazing feat as she was usually kept down by her bulging belly. She stopped when she saw Charlie roll over and look at her with a small smile.

"Hello Charlie. How are you?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine Claire; I'm just a little tired," Charlie's raspy voice replied.

Claire smiled, trying not to show how worried she really was. "Maybe I should leave so you can get some rest..."

"No Claire, please don't," Charlie pleaded, pretending to be a small child, "I hate being in this cave all alone."

"Alright then," she chuckled, "but you have to be a good boy."

"Yes mum." Charlie's eyes sparkled. This was the most fun that he had had for a day or two.

"Well, this place is certainly cheery," Claire droned.

"Yeah, I know," Charlie scoffed, "but it would certainly make Captain Caveman jealous."

Claire laughed gleefully. "You watched that show? He always kind of scared me."

"Yeah, I watched it, but he always made me kind of jealous. He was always around these hot girls but he was like a Mr. Potato Head, but only with a lot of hair."

Claire smiled. "Yeah, that always puzzled me too. I just wanted to shave all his hair off; maybe there was a hunk under all that fuzz."

"A hunk?" Charlie mused, "I always thought that he would actually turn out to be some nasty animal or a masculine woman, but that's just me..." Charlie paused, with a dazed and distant look, and started to shiver and cough. He pulled himself into a ball as Claire watched helplessly.

"Charlie?" she hesitated when he stopped, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Charlie coughed, "I just got a chill there. Nothin' to worry your pretty little head about, I promise."

Claire looked down, silent for a moment. "Hurley told me about your experience last night," she whispered.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Charlie asked sadly.

"Of course I believe you Charlie!" Claire cried apologetically, "I believe every thing about it!"

"You do?" Charlie looked up, "It seems like everyone else thinks otherwise."

"Everyone else thinks it is true too," Claire said seriously, "the only person that I know of that doesn't is Jack."

"Yeah well, he's the one that decides whether we go out and look for the tracking device or not. He is the leader ya know."

"I know," Claire looked down disappointedly.

"I am ready to go looking for it; I'm just waiting for Jack to decide what he wants to do."

"Well," another voice put in, "Jack decides that he and Charlie are going to go chair hunting." Charlie and Claire turned around, eyes wide with surprise and fear, and found Jack standing at the mouth of the cave. "What are you waiting for Charlie? I thought you were ready to go."

Charlie looked confused. "Do you really mean it Jack?" Charlie scrambled to his feet,

"Only if you do," Jack smirked.

Charlie smiled and looked back at Claire. "Well come on Captain Jack, let's go find us a tracking device."

* * *

Next Chappie coming...eventually! ;) Review if you like, review if you don't like!


	4. Chair Hunting

Hey Ya'll!!! Yes, I know that it has been a while, but I promise all this time I have been working on this chapter! I think the next chapter will come faster than this one!

Thank you to all my reviewers and readers!!!!

Enjoy!!!

* * *

Charlie and Jack walked side-by-side into the jungle heading towards the cockpit, or at least where they thought the cockpit was. The jungle was an unusual chill, but the sun shown through brightly between the heavy vegetation. The two men's footsteps were louder than expected; with every fall of a foot, flock of birds would call out wildly, scaring Charlie slightly.

"What the bloody Hell was that?" Charlie cried.

Jack looked straight ahead. "Just some birds; our footsteps must be startling them."

"Oh." Charlie looked down and remained silent for a while. "Jack, do you really believe me or are you just trying to prove me wrong?"

Jack smiled at the younger man. "Well, we'll see when we get to the cockpit now won't we?"

"Then why are you doing this?" Charlie asked, "You seemed so dead set on the fact that I was out of my mind."

Jack gave a knowing nod and replied coolly "Well, I had a little council from our native wise man today and I must say that he had an interesting point."

Charlie gave a raspy chuckle. "Oh, Locke. He always has something enlightening to say. I swear he is like the reincarnation of Buddha or Confucius."

"I wouldn't doubt it if it were true." Jack chuckled. How did Charlie come up with this stuff?

"How much longer will it be?" Charlie playfully whined. "Are we there yet?" He skipped in front of Jack and pouted like a puppy.

Jack smiled and shook his head. "We'll be there in a minute or two. It's just over there behind those trees." 'Charlie, you are one crazy person,' Jack thought to himself. 'You remind me of a little brother, a very little brother.'

Charlie's eyes lit up and he asked jokingly, "You wan' 'ou race? I bet that I could beat you."

"As much as I love a challenge Charlie, I think I will just walk this one."

"Fine."

"You can still run if you want to," Jack said, seeing the slight disappointment in Charlie's eyes.

Charlie gave a cheeky grin and dashed off through the jungle. Jack was surprised how fast the guy could run and jump over the thick amount of brush, but still managed a laugh. Charlie was strangely hyper today.

"I found it!" Charlie exclaimed, "I found the cockpit!"

Jack stepped cautiously through the plants and saw Charlie waiting by the large piece of aircraft. He walked up to it and looked inside of it, making sure that nothing else was in there and nodded for Charlie to go inside.

The smaller man clambered in and crawled toward the window of the plane, trying to avoid hitting his head on the corroded ceiling. The closer he grew, the most excited he became. This could be it; this could be the day that everyone was rescued!

His eyes widened as he came even closer to the chair and greedily reached out his hand to grip on to something to steady himself. He pulled himself on his stomach and slid closer to the window that let the light into the cockpit. Charlie sneezed when all of the sand became disturbed by his movements. He blinked his eyes a few times and reached out to where the pilot's chair would have been. His hand swished flailed around wildly as he desperately tried to feel for the chair, but it just wasn't there.

"No," he muttered under his breath. He lifted his head, squinting his eyes as he searched around the small room that was around. It wasn't there. "Damn!"

Charlie twisted around and slid out of the cockpit. "What is it, Charlie?"

"It isn't in there!" Charlie wailed.

"What?!" Jack stuck his head into the cockpit and searched. Yup, it defiantly wasn't there.

"Where the hell could it be?" Charlie huffed.

Jack ran his hand over his head. "I'm not sure, it could be anywhere. It probably fell out when the plane made contact."

Charlie paced around moaning. Where is it? He stopped for a moment and thought as hard as he could. He had seen that chair before, he knew it. Then he remembered that when he had been carried off that he had seen Sawyer's seat that had a golden, embroidered crest. "Doesn't the pilot's chair have a special kinda crest on it?"

"Yeah, I think so…" Jack gawked, not seeing where this was going.

"I think I know where it is!" Charlie suddenly darted off deeper into the jungle, leaving Jack confused for a moment before he shook his head and followed after the younger man.

* * *

Sawyer dug hastily through on of the suitcases that he had rummaged from the wreck. He cursed slightly under his breath throwing things dejectedly from the box. Why was it so hard to find a get well present? He really didn't know. Charlie was an interesting guy and certainly someone that was hard to find a present for.

He shot up suddenly and looked around him. He thought that he heard something coming from the jungle. It started again, faster this time. Sawyer silently grabbed a knife from the box and prepared for an attack that he was certain to come. The footsteps grew louder and closer causing Sawyer to turn on instinct with a growl and knife poised and ready.

He stopped himself from stabbing when he saw how it was. "Charlie?"

The bassist stood absolutely still, fear and shock evident in his blue eyes. Sawyer looked quickly down at his weapon and lowered it apologetically. "Sorry about that, but when your in the middle of a Godforsaken forest, you need to prepare for anything."

Charlie blinked and curled his lips into a faint, cheeky smile. "You are starting to sound like Locke."

Sawyer smirked, not knowing another way to respond. "Well tell me Cheeky, what brings you to my neck of the woods? Shouldn't you be resting or something?"

The younger man opened his mouth to speak when another man came running into Sawyer's domain. "Charlie?!" He stopped short and saw where he was and who was with him. Sawyer sneered at Jack, trying to do it without Charlie noticing, but failing. Charlie glanced back and forth at the two men, feeling the tension devour the air.

"What do you want?" Sawyer growled, stepping in front of Charlie, so to stare Jack in the eyes.

Jack swallowed and geared his neck to see Charlie, unsure of what to do. "I'm here with Charlie. I'm helping him find the pilot's chair..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. No need to into details. Just because I live by myself doesn't mean that I don't keep up with the latest gossip." Sawyer eyed Jack with disgust. "My sources also told me that you think that Charlie is crazy. You just tryin' to prove your point and make yourself feel superior again?"

"Sawyer," the rough, but gentle voice of Charlie rang, "He is trying to help me find it. I need to see if it is real myself."

Sawyer sighed visible and let all tension go. He grimaced at Jack before turning to Charlie with a small smile. "Well then, what can I do to help?"

Charlie bit his lip uncertainly, trying to avoid Sawyer's eyes. He pointed to the chair. "You can help me by turning that chair on its side so I can see under it."

Sawyer approached the chair and waited for a moment. "Jack, make yourself useful and help me with this. Charlie doesn't need to strain himself."

Jack, though unwillingly, saw his point and took hold of the seat. "One...Two...Three!"

The seat moved more quickly than expected and pulled both of the men down with it. Sawyer stayed still for a moment before he jumped up and wiped the sand off of his clothes. Jack lifted the chair off of his chest and rolled out from under it and followed with Sawyer's actions.

Charlie, crouched down on his knees, search desperately along the black bottom with his eyes at first, but then decided that it must blend in with the bottom and searched with his hands. He glided his hands until he felt a bump. Charlie drew his head closer and saw a little switch, a small light bulb, and a small box around the two. His eyes lit up and he let out a squeal of happiness and excitement.

"What did you find Charlie?" Jack asked expectantly.

Charlie licked his lips. "I think I fund us a life line." Charlie quickly flipped the switch as all the men crowded around, waiting desperately until they heard and saw the red light flash.

Sawyer let out a yell like a cow boy would and grabbed Charlie into a wild embrace. "Dang it kid! You did it!" Charlie laughed and returned the embrace. Sawyer and Charlie began to jump up and down excitedly, laughing and letting out little woops. Jack, still staring at the small light flashing, felt a smile etch its way onto his face.

He felt himself being pulled up and grabbed into Charlie and Sawyer's celebration. "And you thought he was crazy!" Sawyer yelled, "I guess you were wrong!"

* * *

James absentmindedly watched the radar screen. Today was a boring day at the Sydney International Airport. He rubbed his face tiredly and sighed.

"Oy, James," Bruce called, walking into the office, "It's time to go! Shift is changin'!"

"Thank God!" James exclaimed, leaping from his chair. He rushed towards the coat rack and pulled at his leather jacket. "It was getting' mighty borin' in 'ere."

"Ay, same here, same here." Bruce followed James out the door and was about to shut it when he heard a beeping sound go off. "Hey, James, somethin' just started goin' off in there. Should we check it out?"

James turned back around and made his way through the door. "Yeah, maybe we have an incoming flight or summat that I need to help with. The next shift takes a while to get in here."

James sat down and saw that the red flash was not at all moving or anywhere near the airport for that matter. He clicked some buttons and turned on a few switches to see what flight it was. The computer slowly, but steadily uploaded the information while Bruce asked, "What is it? Is it not one of the incoming planes?"

James shook his head. "No. This plane isn't even moving. I'm trying to see what flight number it is, and then we can go from there."

The computer binged and James and Bruce turned their attention to the screen. "Flight 111…isn't that the plane that went down?"

"Yeah mate, I believe so." The two men just stared at the screen, not yet understanding what they had found. They sat their nodding their heads slowly and stared at the flight again, hitting them this time.

"Holy crap! Call the coast guard or summit! Contact the police! Do summit!!!!" The two men ran around the room, picking up phones and dialing numbers. This was going to be an eventful night.

* * *

Hehehe...anyways! Reviews please! ;)


	5. Blowin' in the Wind

Hey ya'll! this isn't the last chapter....i decided to wait for that one! ;) this is, though, a chapter!...duh....anyways!

Note: The lyrics for Blowin' in the Wind are Bob Dylan's, not mine! All lyrics are italicized!

Enjoy!!!

* * *

The phone rang repeatedly in the dark room. Liam, too lazy and tired to care, groaned at the phone's persistence. Ring, Ring, Ring..."GAH!" Liam gave in and grabbed the phone clumsily, missing it the first few tries.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Liam Pace?" A familiar, but official voice asked. "This is Mr. Young from the airport."

Liam shot up and eagerly listened. "Yes...what is it?"

"We have some good news..."

* * *

The islanders buzzed excitedly as they hastily gathered their things. Excitement and joy enveloped the whole atmosphere of the Godforsaken island.

"When I get home, I am getting a peanut butter and honey sandwich with cinnamon apples on the side," Claire piped, wide-eyed like a small girl. "What about you Shannon?"

"Well," the blonde pondered, "I think that I am going to get some new clothes and eat some real food. What about you Sawyer?"

"I think I'm just gunna head on home. No point of staying around the place where it all began right?" Sawyer shrugged. Everyone nodded with agreement. "What about you Cheeky?"

Charlie looked up from the fire, broken from his musing. "What do I want to do when we get back? I want to tell my brother that I am sorry for everything. Then I want to invite everyone over to the house for a Welcome back to Life part. We'll eat cake and ice-cream and everything! Oh yeah, and I want to avoid the media and press."

Everyone that was gathered around smiled at the young man, "That sounds like a good plan." "I'll come to your party."

Then, there was a sudden sound of wind chopping the air. "Helicopters!" Sayid ran to the gathered people. "Everyone come to the beach. They are preparing to land and second now!" The people hastily got up and practically ran all the way, including Claire.

Liam drove as fast as he could to the airport, along with his wife and child. He wanted to be there, no had to be there when Charlie arrived. They all bolted into the airport with all the other families and friends of the castaways. The media was having a frenzy, too. They were interviewing people at random that were holding pictures of the one's that they lost or were about to be found. When Liam entered though, the media came running to him.

"Liam Pace from DriveSHAFT right?" a reported yelled with our waiting for an answer. "How do you feel about your younger brother Charlie? It was believed that Charlie had cocaine on the plane, is that true?"

"PLEASE!" the same voice from this morning yelled, "Leave Mr. Pace his family alone. They have been through just as much as any other family and deserve their space!"

The reporters reluctantly backed off and returned to what they were doing before hand. Looking at Mr. Young and silently thanking him.

* * *

Charlie waited in the crowd of survivors to be checked off a long list of names and then be put on one of the rescue helicopters. He watched as Claire, Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Sawyer walked towards one and helped each other in. He wanted to call out for them to wait for him, butagiantman dresses in a green jumpsuitwith the checklist had gotten in his way.

"Name," the man droned.

"Pace, Charlie Pace," Charlie said distractedly, trying to look over the man's shoulder.

"Charlie Pace?" the man said, skimming quietly through the pages.

"Yes," he answered a bit annoyed.

The man put a check on the page and said, "Next!"

Charlie ran towards the helicopter with all of his friends in it, guitar in hand. He flung the guitar in and scrambled into the craft.

"Charlie?! I see you got past the jolly green giant over there." Charlie turned to find a smirking Sawyer. He smiled back him.

"Yeah, he was very pleasant."

"As is everyone else," Jack snorted. Jack pointed down at Charlie's guitar and smiled. "Are you going to play for us?"

"Yeah Charlie," Claire pleaded with a childlike look, "We have a couple minutes until we have to leave."

"Yeah, our helicopter is almost full. In fact, here comes Locke now," Kate pointed out.

Charlie sighed and pulled out his guitar. "What do you feel like listening to?"

"What do you feel like playing?" Jack asked, shrugging his shoulders.

Locke put himself on the helicopter and looked around. "What's going on?"

"Charlie's about to play us a song," Claire smile as she patted at the spot beside her. "Have a seat."

Charlie thought for a moment for a song that would fit the moment. "Alright then, here goes nothing." He strummed a few cords and then began to play the song.

"_How many roads most a man walk down  
Before you call him a man?  
How many seas must a white dove sail  
Before she sleeps in the sand?  
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly  
Before they're forever banned?  
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind  
The answer is blowin' in the wind. _

Yes, how many years can a mountain exist  
Before it's washed to the sea?  
Yes, how many years can some people exist  
Before they're allowed to be free?  
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head  
Pretending he just doesn't see?  
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind  
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many times must a man look up  
Before he can see the sky?  
Yes, how many ears must one man have  
Before he can hear people cry?  
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows  
That too many people have died?  
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind  
The answer is blowin' in the wind."

Charlie's friends sat in a reflective silence, remembering all they had been through. Sawyer put an arm around Charlie's shoulder and gave him a hug. "Good job man."

The helicopter started to lift off the ground. They were leaving the island behind, after all the drama, pain, and memories.

"Wow," Kate murmured. "It doesn't seem as destructive from up here; it looks like an island out of the travel booklets."

"Well, looks can be deceiving," Locke replied, "I think we all know that by now."

* * *

well, that was it! next chapter will probably be the last one and it will take a bit longer for it to come up as it will be christmas and all soon! ;)


End file.
